A cruise ship chartered to accommodate thousands of security officers for this week's G7 summit has been detained by the Italian police over allegations of substandard onboard hygiene.
The vessel Goddess of the Night/fka Mykonos Magic was slated to provide temporary accommodations for ~2000 police officers near Borgo Egnazia, the resort hosting the G7 summit beginning Thursday, June 13th.
Complaints from officers and their union representatives cited uninhabitable conditions, including malfunctioning toilets, inoperative HVAC systems, and leaking pipes. Domenico Pianese, secretary of the police union, described the shipboard condition as "terrible," noting "dirty and damaged accommodations, unusable toilets, dilapidated showers, and flooded cabins."
The affected personnel have been relocated to alternative lodging.
While onboard deficiencies typically fall under port state control inspection, this vessel was chartered to a government agency, affecting law enforcement personnel directly. Local prosecutors in Brindisi are investigating the conditions of the lodging service provided and have ordered the vessel's detention.
According to La Stampa, the Central Operational Police Service and the Brindisi police station are conducting investigations. Brindisi police reported significant hygiene, health, and accommodation shortcomings, severe enough to suggest "the crime of fraud in public supplies."
The Goddess of the Night (formerly known as Mykonos Magic and Costa Magica) is a 2004-built ship with a capacity of 2700 passengers. The vessel's current owner is Seajets (a Greek-Cypriot ferry operator based in Piraeus-Athens). Seajets began acquiring second-hand cruise vessels during the COVID-era industry downturn and purchased the Goddess of the Night in 2023. The registered shipowner is a holding company with an address matching a third-party ship manager.
Last month, Goddess of the Night was in drydock in Turkey, preparing for service with the adults-only startup line Neonyx Cruises. Neonyx, identified as a Seajets-related enterprise, has advertised a series of cruises featuring prominent DJ entertainers, with departures starting in July.
The impact of the detention on the ship's schedule is unclear.
For more Goddess of the Night incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.